Government promotes ‘people’s mining’

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) is pushing for the monitoring and control of small-scale mining to help raise compliance with regulations and contribution to the country’s economy.

Authorities estimate that as many as 300,000 individuals are engaged in small-scale mining.

“We’ll promote establishment of ‘minahang bayan’ or people’s small-scale mining areas (PSSMAs) nationwide,” said DENR-MGB Director Leo Jasareno.

Republic Act No. 7076 (People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991) provides for establishing PSSMAs “in sites onshore suitable for small-scale mining” so legitimate small-scale miners can operate there, making them as well as their extraction activities and output easier to monitor.

Jasareno admitted monitoring is difficult at present since it’s unclear where and how small-scale mining is being undertaken and who are legitimately engaged in this activity, which is under local government jurisdiction.

DENR-MGB’s bid for rationalizing small-scale mining gained headway earlier when the Department of Justice (DOJ) said RA 7076 “completely repealed” Presidential Decree 1899 (establishing small-scale mining as a new dimension in mineral development).

The DOJ also clarified PD 1899 “no longer has the force and effect of law.”

DENR-MGB sought an opinion in its April 28, 2011 letter to DOJ, believing the chaotic state of Philippine small-scale mining is partly due to confusion over which of RA 7076 and PD 1899 truly governs this activity.

RA 7076 defines small-scale mining as “mining activities which rely heavily on manual labor using simple implement and methods and do not use explosives or heavy mining equipment.”

It says small-scale miners “refer to Filipino citizens who, individually or in the company of other Filipino citizens, voluntarily form a cooperative duly licensed by DENR to engage, under the terms and conditions of a contract, in the extraction or removal of minerals or ore-bearing materials from the ground.”

Report from Business Mirror